You may have seen Martin Cate igniting flaming bowls of fun on the Cooking Channel or entertaining attendees at Tiki and rum events around the world. If you’re a cocktail or rum enthusiast, you’ve certainly heard of Smuggler’s Cove, his San Francisco lair that has redefined the modern rum cocktail and has been acclaimed as one of the world’s best bars, period.
Smuggler’s Cove
He’s also somewhat of a hero to the Tiki home bartending community, quickly rising from hobbyist on the Tiki Central message board to bartender at the Trader Vic’s flagship San Francisco location in 2005, to Forbidden Island, his first acclaimed Tiki bar in Alameda in 2006. He sold his interest there and opened Smuggler’s Cove in 2009.
In April, while Martin was in South Florida for an appearance at the Miami Rum Renaissance Festival, we cornered him in the gardens at Fort Lauderdale’s Mai-Kai, one of his favorite places in the world to enjoy classic Tiki cocktails. Following is our latest “Take 5” interview featuring five random questions, plus a special bonus. See below: Bonus recipes for Martin Cate’s Mai Tai and 2070 Swizzle More Take 5:Jeff “Beachbum” Berry | The Mai-Kai’s Kern Mattei
Interview with Martin Cate by Jim “Hurricane” Hayward – April 19, 2013
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry is extremely passionate about Tiki, tropical drinks and The Mai-Kai. In April, we caught up with the author of such essential Tiki cocktail bibles as Grog Log and Sippin’ Safari in his natural habitat (The Mai-Kai gardens) and posed the following questions.
Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (right) and Hurricane Hayward enjoy their classic Mutiny cocktails in The Mai-Kai gardens. (Photo by Susan Hayward, April 2013)
Interview by Jim “Hurricane” Hayward
1. If you could transport yourself for one night back in time to any Tiki bar or restaurant, what would it be and when?
That would be Don the Beachcomber’s in 1934: Ground zero, the big bang, the creation of the Tiki bar as we know it – by Donn, right after Prohibition. I would have loved to have seen what that was like.
2. If Food Network or the Travel Channel came to you and said, “Pitch us a show about tropical drinks,” what would you suggest?
I would suggest that they just take their suggestion and shove it. Because none of those channels, none of those hosts, none of that garbage is about what these places are about. What these places are about is “aloha,” it’s about the spirit of true hospitality, of welcoming, of making you feel important, of making you feel good. All of these TV channels traffic in all of this competition bullshit, where restaurants are not places to go to relax and unwind. Where you get stressed out and compete against your fellow chefs or bartenders. I hate all that. That’s the antithesis of the true spirit of hospitality, of genteel camaraderie, of going to a place to exchange confidences and emotions, and happy experiences with people that you either know or you’ve met at these places. It’s not about competition, it’s not about who’s the best, it’s not about some guy with spiked hair telling you about the awesomeness of the food. That’s just artificial garbage. … All these people are self-appointed experts. They don’t know anything about anything.
When The Mai-Kai updated its cocktail menu in May 2018, a decision was made to revive one of the classic “lost cocktails” from the notebook of original mixologist Mariano Licudine, who led the bar program from 1956 to 1979. There were nearly a dozen to choose from, many of them ionic drinks that Licudine had brought with him from his days working for Don the Beachcomber in the 1940s and ’50s.
The Suffering Bastard, a longtime off-menu “lost classic,” was added to the permanent menu in May 2018. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward)
Over the past five years, these lost cocktails have been featured at multiple special events, from The Hukilau to The Mai-Kai’s 60th anniversary party. In 2017, a special “Flashback Friday” promotion gave guests the opportunity to sample a different retired cocktail each month on that designated day. While many were popular, one stood out and earned a spot on the main menu, even though it was never on the menu to begin with.
The Suffering Bastard was de rigueur at mid-century Tiki bars. Like many other popular tropical cocktails of the era, it was bastardized (pun intended) and retooled to fit the needs of each particular establishment. The Trader Vic’s version was perhaps the most well-known, instantly recognizable by the iconic Suffering Bastard mug.
The Mai-Kai was no exception, but for reasons unknown it never appeared on the menu. Taking a cue from Trader Vic, Licudine created his Suffering Bastard as an alternative take on the Mai Tai. Of course, The Mai-Kai’s Mai Tai is nothing like Vic’s, and neither is the Suffering Bastard. Licudine did appropriate one distinctive touch from Vic: A large slice of cucumber as garnish. As odd as it seams, it really does work.
The Mai-Kai’s version of the Suffering Bastard features a cucumber garnish, first popularized by Trader Vic. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward, May 2018)
The original Suffering Bastard, sans cucumber, was created in 1942 at Shepheard’s Hotel in Cairo by mixologist Joe Scialom, a fascinating story uncovered by tropical drink historian and author Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. Scialom’s recipe – which includes gin, brandy, Rose’s lime juice, Angostura bitters and ginger beer – was revealed in the 2010 book, Beachbum Berry Remixed. An entire chapter is devoted to Scialom in Berry’s 2013 epic hardcover, Potions of the Caribbean: 500 Years of Tropical Drinks and the People Behind Them.
Before Berry and other Tiki revivalists came along in the 1990s, many of these classic cocktails were long forgotten. Without a slot on the menu at The Mai-Kai, it’s possible that the Suffering Bastard languished for decades in Licudine’s notebook before being rediscovered. The latest version includes a few new tweaks, so we’ve added a new tribute recipe below.
The humble Daiquiri is arguably the most definitive rum cocktail, perhaps even the prototype for the 20th century tropical drink explosion. It influenced Don the Beachcomber, Trader Vic, and countless others who followed in their footsteps.
Cuba’s most famous cocktail can be traced back to the late 1800s, but the simple combination of rum, lime and sugar was not groundbreaking. Martinique and Guadeloupe had the Ti Punch while Jamaica had its Planters Punch. An argument can be made that this intoxicating combination was invented on the high seas in the 1700s, when the British Navy introduced Grog to its sailors.
Though deeply linked to Cuba, the Daiquiri was actually invented by an American engineer, Jennings Cox, who ran a mining company in the small village of Daiquiri during the Spanish-American War. The original was more like a punch, batched and served over crushed ice. It was not reconfigured into a single cocktail, strained into an empty coupe, until around 1913, after Cox’s death
That’s when the Daiquiri really began to take off. Its popularity grew from a local favorite to a destination drink for tourists who flocked to the Caribbean island’s legendary bars such as Havana’s La Floridita, especially during Prohibition. It also caught the attention of Facundo Bacardi, who used the simple drink to promote his expanding rum empire.
A vintage Bacardi ad from Cuba. Havana’s La Floridita and owner/bartender Constantino Ribalaigua Vert became known worldwide for perfecting the craft of the Daiquiri.
It’s likely that both Donn Beach (aka Don the Beachcomber) and Victor Bergeron (aka Trader Vic) ran across the Daiquiri during their travels in the Caribbean before opening their bars in California that kick-started the Tiki cocktail craze in the 1930s.
Their menus are loaded with Daiquiris, much like The Mai-Kai. Open since 1956, the South Florida historic landmark still features many drinks that can be traced back to Donn Beach, such as the Special Reserve Daiquiri.
There’s also a blended classic (Floridita Daiquiri) and an acclaimed original creation of mixologist Mariano Licudine, the Derby Daiquiri.
Of all the Daiquiris that appeared on a Mai-Kai menu, the Cuban Daiquiri is the only one that faded into the history books. It was an opening-day drink in 1956, but it likely became a victim of the era’s political upheaval, not to mention the U.S. economic embargo against Cuba that began in 1960 and lasts to this day.
The Mai-Kai’s 1956-57 menu, which featured the Cuban Daiquiri (upper right).
Before the 1958 revolution, Mai-Kai owners Bob and Jack Thornton were known to take weekend jaunts to the island aboard a private plane. They brought back rare bottles of Cuban rum, which can still be found displayed in the restaurant’s back bar (see photo below).
The Derby Daiquiri took the Cuban Daiquiri’s place on the menu in 1959. It was revived during a menu expansion in the early 1970s, but it was removed for good in the 1980s and became largely forgotten.
The Daiquiri was sullied during the cocktail dark ages of the late 20th century by cheap imitations and dreaded frozen slushie-style machines. But the classic recipe maintained a quiet dignity. The traditional Daiquiri has seen an amazing resurgence during the 21st century craft and Tiki cocktail revival.
With just over a week before The Hukilau invades South Florida for its 12th annual vintage Polynesian Pop extravaganza, attendees can look forward to a great assortment of recently announced goodies from sponsors and the event organizers.
Angostura Rum and Bitters has not only joined The Hukilau as a sponsor, the venerable spirits company is sending brand ambassador David Delaney to the event to mix up some special tropical cocktails. Look for Delaney at the Angostura booth in the Tiki Treasures Bazaar at the Yankee Clipper on Friday, June 7, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Also joining as a sponsor in 2013 is Barritt’s Ginger Beer, a classic Caribbean brand that will be featured in cocktails Thursday evening in the Tiki Treasures Bazaar. While you’re in the bazaar, keep an eye out for these cocktails and other special events, such as Saturday’s 1 p.m. memorabilia signing by classic pin-up photographer Bunny Yeager and mid-century Polynesian dancer and actress Nani Maka.
The concept of a “Polynesian” cocktail is somewhat of a misnomer. While most tropical drinks have names and imagery that recall Polynesia, most are actually Caribbean rum concoctions reinvented by American restaurateurs. One notable exception is the distinctive Doctor Funk, also sometimes known as Dr. Fong.
The real Doctor Funk (from The Cyclopedia of Samoa, via TikiCentral.com)
Doctor Funk was an actual person as well as a real Polynesian drink. Born in 1844 in Germany, Dr. Bernhard Funk migrated to Samoa around 1881 and was reputedly the first medical practitioner in the capital city. He became friends with Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson (author of Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) and was the bedside doctor when Stevenson died in 1894 in Samoa.
Dr. Funk was not only a skilled doctor but also a mixologist of some note. The Doctor Funk was a notorious drink that became known throughout the region. It was mentioned by travel writer Frederick O’Brien (1869-1932) in his books White Shadows in the South Seas (1919) and Mystic Isles of the South Seas (1921). The latter calls the drink “a portion of absinthe, a dash of grenadine – a syrup of the pomegranate fruit, the juice of two limes, and half a pint of siphon water.” It was apparently served by the doctor as a “medicinal tonic.”
From a Don the Beachcomber menu.
Dr. Funk thrived in Samoa, marrying the daughter of a chief, but health problems caused him to return to Germany, where he died in 1911. After his death, a granite stone was placed in his honor on the shore of the mysterious Lake Lanoto’o in Samoa, where Funk had built a health resort. The secluded lake still contains goldfish, illegally introduced to Samoa by Dr. Funk. For a lot more on the life and times of Bernhard Funk, check out this great research on Tiki Central by Sven Kirsten (bigbrotiki), Tom Duncan (TikiTomD), and many others.
A drink this legendary and rooted in the South Pacific was perfect fodder for Tiki bar pioneers Donn Beach (Don the Beachcomber) and Victor Bergeron (Trader Vic’s). Both created Doctor Funk cocktails in the 1930s and ’40s with pretty much the same flavor profile. But over the years there became so many different versions by Beach, Bergeron and many others, it became impossible to pinpoint a definitive “original” version.
The Dr. Fong cocktail returned to The Mai-Kai in September 2016 during a special event celebrating the release of the book ‘Mai-Kai: History and Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant.’ (Photo by Hurricane Hayward)
Doctor Funk also inspired variations with names such as Dr. Fong and Dr. Wong. Many of these became synonymous with the (now somewhat politically incorrect) Fu Manchu-style Tiki mug that was widely produced in the mid-century. Restaurants across the country simply invented their own drinks called Doctor Funk or Dr. Fong to go into the mug (see “bilge” at the very bottom of this review).
When The Mai-Kai opened in 1956, the menu included a Dr. Fong cocktail based on one of the Don the Beachcomber versions of Doctor Funk. This is where bartender Mariano Licudine worked for nearly 20 years, mixing the drinks that became the template for most of the original 1956-57 Mai-Kai menu.
Luckily for us, Tiki historian and author Jeff “Beachbum” Berry has over the past 15 years decade published two of Beach’s Doctor Funk recipes, which I’ve included below. In 2016, thanks to another author, guests at The Mai-Kai were finally able to taste the authentic Dr. Fong after an absence of more than 40 years.
The special event also featured several other long-lost cocktails (Hanalei Bay and the Demerara Float) plus two days of gatherings of Mai-Kai enthusiasts from across the country.
Dr. Fong returned again in August 2017 as part of The Mai-Kai’s monthly Flashback Friday promotion, including a special new recipe. See more below under the Tribute recipe notes.
A vintage Mystery Girl and Mystery Drink photo. (Courtesy of SwankPad.org)
Oh Mystery Girl,
what’s in this Mystery Drink?!
I must steal you away;
conscience now has no say
Into this heart of darkness I sink.
And now you’re leaving me with this …
a silken lei a single kiss?
A drink to fill this emptyness?
Don’t leave me Mystery Girl!
– Mystery Girl by The Crazed Mugs
The Mai-Kai’s Mystery Drink (and its accompanying ritual featuring the Mystery Girl) is no mere cocktail. It’s a Polynesian Pop culture icon, immortalized in song, on television and seared into the memory of countless Mai-Kai patrons over the past half-century.
When the drink is ordered, a gong is struck repeatedly as a Polynesian maiden silently delivers the huge, flaming bowl packed with at least 9 ounces of alcohol (some reports say it contains 13 ounces). The Mystery Girl dances before the lucky customer, placing a lei around the neck, then planting a kiss on the cheek before gliding away.
It goes without saying that The Atomic Grog is a big fan of any traditional “grog,” and the Yeoman’s Grog at The Mai-Kai is one of the best. But where exactly does the term “grog” come from? And what’s the story behind the Yeoman’s Grog?
Admiral Edward “Old Grog” Vernon. (Portrait by Thomas Gainsborough – from Wikipedia)
In the British Navy, it became tradition in the mid-1600s to grant seamen a daily ration of rum, often replacing the traditional beer, wine, arrack and brandy. In 1731, an official Navy declaration was made granting a daily ration of wine or rum while on foreign stations. The Cocktail Wonk blog features several deep dives into the history of rum in the British Navy.
In 1740, Admiral Edward Vernon – nicknamed “Old Grog” because of the cloak made of grogram (a silk fabric) that he always wore – sought to cut down on rampant drunkenness. So he ordered what by then had become the official daily rum ration of an imperial half-pint (10 U.S. ounces) be diluted with four parts water.
Some years later, when it was believed that citrus fruit prevented scurvy, lime juice was added to the mix along with sugar to improve the flavor. The world’s first proper tropical drink was born, named the “Grog” after Old Grog himself. In the James Beard Award winning book Smuggler’s Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum and the Cult of Tiki (2016), Martin and Rebecca Cate pay tribute to a Grog from the 1700s with a recipe featuring 1/2 ounce lime juice, 1/2 ounce Demerara syrup, and 2 ounces of rum. Shake with cubed or cracked ice and strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.
* More on Navy rum: When men were men, and sailors drank Daiquiris
From a classic Don the Beachcomber menu.
Roughly 200 years later, when tropical drinks were all the rage in the mid-century, so were “Grogs.” There was the Colonial Grog from Tiki bar pioneer Don the Beachcomber, Voodoo Grog from Don’s competitor Trader Vic, the Captain’s Grog from the Captain’s Inn (Long Beach, Calif.), and many versions of the Coffee Grog.
But the most famous was easily the Navy Grog, popularized by Donn Beach (aka Don the Beachcomber) and Victor Bergeron (aka Trader Vic), its name and flavor profile paying tribute to the original quaffed on the high seas. Beach is credited with serving it first, dedicating the drink “to the gallant men of the American Navy.” The influence and reach of this classic cannot be understated. Just ask Jeff “Beachbum” Berry, the author and Tiki cocktail archaeologist who dug up most of the aforementioned recipes and published them in his six seminal books and app.
In the introduction to Potions of the Caribbean: 500 Years of Tropical Drinks and the People Behind Them (2014), the influential writer talks about the life-changing moment he had 30 years earlier, “sitting in a restaurant I couldn’t afford while sipping a drink I didn’t understand. The restaurant was Trader Vic’s, the drink a Navy Grog.” The self-described “Tiki nerd” became obsessed with finding out why he liked the drink so much and figuring out where it came from. The rest is Tiki revival history.
The Yeoman’s Grog is a favorite of Tiki historian and author Sven Kirsten, seen here sharing a toast with Hurricane Hayward on New Year’s Eve 2016 in The Mai-Kai’s Molokai lounge. (Atomic Grog photo)
But Berry was just one of many famous (and infamous) figures who were smitten with the Navy Grog. It was believed to be one of Frank Sinatra’s favorite drinks (even though ‘Ol Blue Eyes preferred Bourbon). President Richard Nixon was a fan, sneaking away from the White House to quaff a few after hours at Trader Vic’s in the Capitol Hilton. Not coincidentally, Nixon was a Navy lieutenant who served in the South Pacific. In 2003, record producer Phil Spector enjoyed several Navy Grogs at the Beverly Hills Trader Vic’s the night he murdered actress Lana Clarkson. Court testimony by a Vic’s bartender included reference to the drink’s robust 3 ounces of rum.
Don the Beachcomber’s version also features 3 ounces of rum, and both employ grapefruit and lime juices. The only major difference is the sweetener: Donn Beach preferred his signature honey mix, while Trader Vic used an allspice syrup. Trader Vic’s restaurants use a proprietary “Navy Grog Concentrate,” but Berry has revealed (and taste tests confirm) that this is indeed just a fancy syrup.
Which of the two classics is best depends on who you ask. They’re roughly equal in our estimation. So we checked The Grogalizer, the Tiki home-bartending site that features ratings of some 500 cocktail recipes from Berry and Cate, plus more. With 81 votes, Don the Beachcomber’s version rates 8.2 (out of 10), while Trader Vic’s version scores 7.5 on 22 votes.
The Cobra’s Kiss is one of the hidden gems at The Mai-Kai, a complex and layered cocktail on the medium-strength section menu that may take newbies time to fully appreciate. But if you truly savor rum and exotic flavors, you’ll eventually experience a revelation.
A Cobra's Kiss is enjoyed during The Hukilau in June 2010. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward)
For The Atomic Grog, that revelation came during the 2010 Hukilau (see photo). It became the event’s drink du jour, a suddenly under-appreciated classic. If you hang out at The Mai-Kai and sample enough of the cocktails, you’ll have many similar experiences. Fittingly, the cocktail made a grand return to The Hukilau 13 years later at the 2023 opening-night party at the Beachcomber Resort while the restaurant nears the home stretch in its massive restoration project. The Hukilau highlights:Photos and memories from Tiki weekender
While the Cobra’s Kiss flavor profile is distinctive, it’s not unique. Tiki cocktail fans may already be familiar with the Cobra’s Fang, an early Don the Beachcomber classic.
But as he did with many of Donn Beach’s classics, former Beachcomber bartender Mariano Licudine tweaked the Cobra’s Fang just enough to give it his own stamp at The Mai-Kai. In this case, it is indeed milder but also arguably more polished than the original.
It’s one of our favorites on the medium menu, along with the Shark Bite and Rum Julep. All are intensely flavorful and highly recommended.
More than 75 years after its invention, the Mai Tai is widely hailed as the definitive tropical drink. You’ll get some arguments from Zombie fans like myself, but there’s no denying that the Mai Tai is one of the world’s most popular and distinctive cocktails, period.
The Mai Tai (front) is one of The Mai-Kai’s signature drinks. (Photo by Go11Events.com, courtesy of The Mai-Kai; waitress: Maima)
We subscribe to Berry’s theory that Trader Vic created the Mai Tai after tasting a Don the Beachcomber drink with a similar flavor profile called the Q.B. Cooler. Donn Beach, who created the Tiki bar concept in 1934 in Los Angeles, also had a drink called the Mai Tai Swizzle, but it was gone from the menu by 1937. It’s widely accepted that Vic frequented Don the Beachcomber in Hollywood before opening his first Trader Vic’s in Oakland. Could he have lifted the name from one drink and the flavor profile from another in creating his Mai Tai?
It’s entirely possible, but that has nothing to do with The Mai-Kai, or its version of the Mai Tai. The Mai-Kai already serves a descendant of the Q.B. Cooler called the K.O. Cooler (See our previous review). If you’re looking for the taste of a proto Trader Vic’s Mai Tai, try the K.O. Cooler.
The Mai Tai served at The Mai-Kai is one of many variations created in the wake of the success of the original drink. You’ll find some good examples from vintage Tiki restaurants in Beachbum Berry’s cocktail books and app, including the Bali Hai Mai Tai, Damon’s Mai Tai, Kon-Tiki Mai Tai and Surf Room Mai Tai. Until recently, many bars offered an inferior or bastardized copy. But the Tiki and craft cocktail movements have resulted in a much more creative atmosphere, especially where the Mai Tai is concerned. Check out the links below for examples:
* Florida bartender wins Chairman’s Reserve Mai Tai Challenge at The Mai-Kai
* More Mai Tai recipes on The Atomic Grog
A Mai Tai at The Mai-Kai in April 2013. (Photo by Hurricane Hayward)
In the mid-century, however, The Mai-Kai was not quick to jump on the Mai Tai bandwagon. The cocktail has not been spotted on a menu before 1970 (see image). It’s missing from all previous menus in our collection, including this one from 1966.
At first, it was likely an off-menu drink made upon request, like the Scorpion and Suffering Bastard, two other Trader Vic’s classics popular with many guests. The latter finally made it to The Mai-Kai’s menu during the last major update in 2018.
Rather than copying Vic’s recipe, Mai-Kai mixologist Mariano Licudine put his own spin on the Mai Tai (and Suffering Bastard), owing to his roots as one of Don the Beachcomber’s early Filipino barmen. He worked behind one of Donn Beach’s original Hollywood bars in 1939 before becoming assistant bar manager at the Chicago location during his years there (1940-1955). He joined The Mai-Kai as bar manager in 1956, crafting its opening day menu with owners Bob and Jack Thornton.
